Attorneys bringing personal injury and other suits on a contingency fee basis often face bankruptcy-related issues. A defendant may be insolvent, a bankruptcy trustee may assert an insurance policy is property of a bankruptcy estate, or a bankruptcy trustee may bring a competing claim against the same defendant, as just a few examples. My bankruptcy and litigation practice includes assisting contingency-fee attorneys and their clients in managing effectively a wide range of bankruptcy and insolvency matters.
This article addresses In re CWS Enterprises, 2017 WL 4051708 (9th Cir. Sept. 14), where the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals considered the bankruptcy court’s power to review a pre-petition contingency fee agreement between an attorney and her client, who became a debtor in bankruptcy.
